Bulgari Gerald Genta Octo Bi-Retro Steel Ceramic review Part 3
Dec 04, 2011,00:35 AM
The Bulgari Gerald
Genta Octo and Gefica collections both share a common design element
which is the studded crown. For the Octo Bi-Retro Steel
Ceramic the watch is fitted with a polished stainless steel studded
crown with an onyx cabochon. This crown was easy to wind and
also pull out for time setting.
The movement is a GG caliber
7722 self winding movement with jumping hours, retrograde
minutes and date display, beating at 28800 vph with a 45 hour power
reserve. The movement is finished in what Bulgari describes as
‘old gold’ finish with circular-grained, perlage surfaces and polished
screws that can be viewed from the transparent shapphire case
back. At certain angles, the position of the winding rotor and
the plates almost appear as a single circular-grained piece of
metal. It has somewhat of a stealth looking monotone finish
but I personally would have liked to see a little bit more
contrast. Perhaps blued screws or maybe even alternating
finishing on the bridges or plates would have made the movement more
contrasting, visual striking, and provide more depth. Here's an
example where I placed the watch on it's side with the crown facing
upwards. From a distance the movement looked like it was on
piece of mono-toned circular-grained metal:
If friction-free spinning rotors were
any indication of efficient winding, then this has got to be one of the
smoothest rotors I've ever seen. Here's a video taken by DRMW
of the rotor when place flat on the bezel and just spinning it with
light pressure:
The
caseback is an eight
sided faceted piece of bead blasted stainless steel with a sapphire
glass to view the movement. It is secured with eight brightly
polished
pentagon shaped screws. Water resistance is rated at 10
ATM. Since
this was a temporary loaner watch generously borrowed directly from
Bulgari I resisted the urge to take it out in the Pacific Ocean during
my vacation. But it worked fine with occasional splashes of
water.
The specifications for the Bulgari Octo Bi-Retro
Steel Ceramic shows that the case is 43mm in diameter. I have
small wrists (6.5 inches) and fit of the watch was perfectly
fine. The angled lugs and the form-fitting rubber strap molded
itself to my wrist. The width of the strap helped too and it
stayed securely on my wrist without flopping around. Here are a
few wristshots:
And a few measurements pictures with
DRMW's trusty Lyman dial
calipers:
On the side of the case
of opposite the crown is a single corrector/pusher. This
particular sample watch did not come with instructions and I'll have to
verify with my sources at Bulgari on what functions this corrector
activates. I'm guessing it's the date function but will check
into this.
I hope you enjoyed
this on-the-wrist review of the Bulgari Octo Bi-Retro Steel Ceramic
watch. I also want to thank our friends at Bulgari HQ and the
friendly staff at the flagship Bulgari Beverly Hills Boutique for
coordinating the delivery of the watch. After spending nearly a
month with this watch I am sad to see this one heading back to the
boutique.
Bulgari Gerald Genta Octo Bi-Retro Steel Ceramic Watch An "On-The-Wrist" Review By Ed Woo - 'ED-209' The Bulgari Gerald Genta Octo Bi-Retro Steel Ceramic debuted at the Baselworld 2010 World Watch and Jewelry Show and quickly earned accolades by winning t...
One of the intriguing details on the Octo Bi-Retro Steel Ceramic is the deployant buckle. The rubberized strap is connected to a solid stainless steel butterfly deployant clasp. I actually prefer a deployant over a standard tang buckle as I find it easier...
Hi DRMW, I know you're a fan of the GG Octo Retro watches and wanted to get your thoughts on this watch. What do you think of this new version versus the original? I personally like this new version better than the old because the dial looks better with t...
Lots of design features that you pointed out in this watch that I overlooked when I first viewed the watch. Very interesting and well thought out design. Thanks!
The Bulgari Gerald Genta Octo and Gefica collections both share a common design element which is the studded crown. For the Octo Bi-Retro Steel Ceramic the watch is fitted with a polished stainless steel studded crown with an onyx cabochon. This crown was...
is the contrast between the black ceramic bezel and the steel case. Having a different color and/or material for the bezel often looks better and makes the case more interesting. I would like to see a rose gold case with a black ceramic bezel. The rapidit...
Hi Stewart, Cool, I didn't know that you tried on the rose gold bi-retro and quad-retro in LV. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts! Regards, ED-209
Thank you for the review Ed! In agreement about the movement, wished they had some sort of different decoration. Also wished they performed chamfering on the edges of the rotor. Thanks again for the wonderful pictures and review!
Cleaner, more legible, and more "sculptured" then before. The way time is displayed is so instinctive to read. The date window is slightly fan shaped, and can accommodate two digit dates without "cramping" them. And the skeleton minute hands has a suffici...
First off, thank you for the wonderfully detailed examination of this watch. There is a lot to like about it. It sure is a masculine design. Several times in the past I flirted with the Bi Retro white gold / tantalum piece. I have always been intrigued by...
Thanks Michael for your thoughts on the Bulgari watch and for reading the review. I recall handling the GG Bi-Retro white gold and tantalum piece at a PuristS Gerald Genta event a few years ago and remember that it was a pretty hefty piece and the 45mm di...
I think you gave a great depiction of what it would be like to own and wear the Octo Bi-Retro along with superb close-up pictures. I always liked Bulgari's version of this watch because of its modernization of the piece and the cleaner lines. Thank you fo...
Still learning how to use the settings on my little point and shoot Canon Powershot SD970IS, aperture: f/9, ISO speed: 80, exposure: 1/60 sec, focal length: 7mm Regards, ED-209...
I really like this Octo and even my brother was impressed with this watch when he finally saw one in flesh at my local Bulgari Boutique. The Bulgari Octo Bi-Retro Steel Ceramic is definitely a piece which looks even more impressive in person than in photo...
Thanks Anthony, glad to hear you enjoyed the review. I've seen a few of these around the boutiques and AD's in Hawaii, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. How do you like the Octo versus the X-Pro P10? Did you ever receive a short strap for your watch? Regards, E...
more so than the Octo because the Octo is more dressy than sporty IMO, and my lifestyle is a lot of casual than formal. Hence, I'd wear the P10 much more often than an Octo. I haven't had the chance to wear an Octo for an extended period of time, so my op...